Baby jumper



Jan. 10, 1961 T. J. BlEDA BABY JUMPER Filed May v, 1957 INVENTOR. THADDEUS J. BEDA ATTO EN EY United States Parent BABY JUMPER Thaddeus J. Bieda, 5235 N. Spaulding, Chicago, Ill.

Filed May 17, 1957, Ser. No. 659,917

8` claims. (Cl. 155-17) This invention relates in general to baby jumpers and in particular to a single point suspension for a baby support, said suspension having a high degree of elongation and a full 360 rotative capacity.

It is to be emphasized that this is not a Swing. In fact, it is so designed that ordinary swinging action will cause the bottom of the support or basket to bump on the floor. The desired action is a combined merry-go-round eifect with an up and down movement as well as a rotative movement about an axis from the pivot point through the center of the basket.

With babies 'and young children it is highly desirable to have them exercise their legs without letting them run free where they must be continuously watched. With a device such as I have invented, a youngster can entertain itself for hours Without getting hurt or getting into mischief, and at the same time can get as much exercise as it wants since the device will not be actuated unless the youngster itself provides the impetus to set it in motion.

With the above in mind it is therefore one object of my invention to provide a baby jumper which will have three dimensional movement, namely; i'n an orbit about its point of suspension; pivotally about an axis between the point of suspension and the center of the basket or support; and along the same axis toward and away from the point of suspension.

Second; to provide a novel'suspension for the basket which will permit a large degree of elongation and will be quiet and squeakproof.

V Third; to provide a novel connection for the suspension means which will make it easy to replace said suspension means.

Fourth; to provide a novel, easily formed basket and means for carrying the basket from the suspension means.

Fifth; to provide a swivel suspension for a baby jumper which will eliminate danger of twisting lines.

Other objects and advantages as well as the construction and manner of use of my invention will be apparent by reference to the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a front assembly elevational view of a baby jumper constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectonal view through one of the clamps and hangers for the elastic support.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged end view of the elastic support clamping arrangement.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed view of the lower supporting arrangement on the elastic support for the basket.

Fig. 5 is a reduced exploded isometric view of the forming ring for the upper edge of the basket and the fabric and padding portions which go to make up the basket.

Referring now to the drawing by numerals of reference, 1 designates a suitable hook fastened to the ceilng or to any suitable supporting member or structure. A swivel hook 2 of any well known construction is carried on the hook 1 and preferably has the snap portion 3 downwardly extended so a chain or rope 4 may be removably carried thereby, the lower end terminating in an S-hook 5 or any other suitable terminal member.

A removable resilient clip 6 may be snapped into place on the S-hook 5, the transverse shank 7 of the clip being carriedin a tubular member 8 which may be of Wood, metal or plastic. A pair of longitudinally elastic supports 9 are secured to upper tubular member 8 and lower tubular member 8', said supports being made of rubber or a similar material, it being important that they have a great deal of elasticity for eifectve operation of the ,baby jumper.

One of the important features of the invention is that one of the elastic supports 9 is slightly longer than the other, whereby one of the supports may fatigue and separate before the other and thereby provide a factor of safety inasmuch as a single support will hold the baby jumper and the damaged support can be replaced as soon as it is discovered.

'In the new and novel arrangement for securing the supports 9 to the tubular members 8 ands', I wrap the ends of the supports about the tubular members, place a pair of rods 10 in parallel relation against said ends and force clamps 11 over the ends of the tubular members and rods, there being suflicient give because of the elasticity of supports 9 to securely hold all the parts in non-slipping relation.

A rod 12 with ears 13 is positioned in the lower tubular members 8' and loops 14 of lines 15 are Secured in the ears 13 and extend downwardly to offset portions 16 of the frame 17 used to form the basket 18. The loops 14 may be formed by use of standard metal clips 19 or in any' other suitable manner.

The basket may be made by using a pair of crossing webs 20 of suitable material, leaving leg openings 21 and fastened 'at upper ends to the frame 17, a pad 22 being used between the webs 20 and Secured by sewing or other suitable method. The back 23 of the frame'17 may be curved as shown to provide a curved back rest and to eliminate projectons which may damage furniture or the like.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a new and novel baby jumper in which an unusual degree of elongation is attained and by means of a novel swivel connection a three dimensional movement is possible, and ordinary swingingmovement cannot be accomplished under ordinary circumstances. A baby or small child can keep itself entertained for hours, can give its legs excellent exercise as it uses them to push itself upward and propel itself in a circular path at the same time, or it can sleep comfortably in the basket when worn out, the bobbing motion aiding in putting a baby to sleep.

Obviously, changes in form, proportion and details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention and I reserve all rights to such changes as come within the scope of this specification and the claims which follow.

What I claim as new 'and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A baby bouncer comprising a basket support for a baby, lines from the basket support meeing at a common terminal, an overhead supporting member, a yieldable overhead element between the overhead supporting member and the common terminal, the common terminal comprising a tubular member, a rod passing through the tubular member and having terminal extensions therefrom, the lines connecting to their respective terminal extensions, the lower end of the yieldable overhead element terminating at the tubular member.

2. A baby bouncer comprising a basket support for a baby, lines from the basket support meeting at a common terminal, and a yieldable overhead element having one end connected to the common terminal, an overhead sup- Patented Jan. 10, 1961 porting member secured to the other end of the yieldable overhead element, including an upper and lower tubular member, a rod passing through each of the tubular members, the rod in the lower tubular member having` terminal connections receiving the lines from the basket support, the rod in the upper tubular member having ends angularly dsposed upwardly and toward each other, and terminal ends on the angularly dsposed ends of the rods removably securable to the overhead supporting member.

3. A baby bouncer comprising a basket support for a baby, lines from the basket support meeting at a common terminal, and a yieldable overhead element having one end connected to the common terminal, an overhead supporting member secured to the other end of the yieldable overhead element, including an upper and a lower tubular member, a pair of elastic members positioned between the tubular members, the ends of the elastic members being oppositely wrapped about the tubular members and extending a short distance therefrom, a pair of rods paralleling each tubular member and bearing snugly against the elastic members, and a clamp removably positioned at each end of each pair of rods and their respective tubular member securing the rods in elastic member retaining position.

4. A baby bouncer comprising a basket support for a baby, lines from the basket support meeting at a common terminal, and a yieldable overhead element having one end connected to the common terminal, an overhead supporting member secured to the other end of the yieldable overhead element, including an upper and a lower tubular member, a pair of elastic members positioned between the tubular members, the ends of the elastic members being oppositely wrapped about the tubular members and extending a short distance therefrom, a pair of rods paralleling each tubular member and bearing snugly against the elastic members, and a clamp slidable over each end of each of the tubular members and the last mentioned rods securing the rods in elastic member retaining position.

5. A baby bouncer comprising a basket support for a baby, lines from the basket support meeting at a common terminal, and a yieldable overhead element having one end connected to the common terminal, an overhead supporting member secured to the other end of the yieldable overhead element, including an upper and a lower tubular member, a pair of independently secured elastic members positioned between and having overlapping ends secured to the tubular members, one of said elastic members being of greater length than the other elastic member whereby failure of one member will permit the other member to function until repairs are made.

6. A baby bouncer comprisng a basket support for a baby, an overhead support for the baby bouncer, a plurality of lines having their lower ends secured to the basket support, a common terminal member above the basket, the upper ends of the lines being secured to the common terminal member, a yieldable overhead element having one end connected to the common terminal member, said yieldable overhead element comprising a plurality of elastic members of different lengths, the upper ends of the elastic members being joined at the overhead support.

7. A baby bouncer comprsing a basket support for a baby, an overhead support for the baby bouncer, a plurality of lines having their lower ends secured to the basket support, a common terminal member above the basket, the upper ends of the lines being secured to the common terminal member, a yieldable overhead element having one end connected to the common terminal member, said yieldable overhead element comprsing a plurality of elastic members of dilferent lengths, a support on each end of the yieldable overhead element, the ends of the elastic members oppositely overlapping each other on their respective supports, and removable clamping means holding the overlapping ends of the elastic members fixed about their respective supports.

8. The structure as specified in claim 7, said clamping members including a pair of rigid members hearing against each of the overlapping ends of the elastic members, and 'a clamping ring encircling each pair of rigid members and their respective support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENT S 

